Clarke's back always a worry

Australia's coach Tim Nielsen has said that Clarke's back problems are long-term and Australia is no hurry to rush his return to the squad for the upcoming ODI series against India.

Clarke missed the Champions Trophy and has not been picked for the Indian tour with the selectors hoping that the newly appointed T20 captain will be fit in time for the West Indies tour starting next month.

"I don't think we can ever guarantee that [his back will be fine], the issues are with discs and things with his back, so I'm not sure they're ever going to be 100% perfect,'' Nielsen told AAP. "He'll have to manage it and he basically gets daily treatment on his back and his body when he's away and playing and travelling, as do most of the blokes."

"There's no point bringing him back half-baked and hoping we can nurse him through," Nielsen said, "because there's nothing surer that it'd be a recipe for disaster for him.''

"We're hopeful if we get him enough time to make sure he comes back 100% fit, or as good as he can possibly be, then that'll minimise the chances of it flaring up quickly,'' Nielsen said. "We hope we can come home from India in a month and we'll see him smiling up there in Brisbane and ready to go for the first match as good as he can possibly be.''

"He's not an old man," Nielsen said, "so we've got to be very careful that we don't flog him to death as a 28-year-old as he is now.''